It had to happen. A fine fix I've got myself in now. I'm 50 on April 30,2001. You live long enough you get there. I didn't expect it to come so quick. It seems like only yesterday I was in my 1969 Volkswagen with my 8 track tape player driving around Northeast Kansas City with the wind blowing in my shoulder length hair,looking for something to do.
32 years later I find myself staring at 50 years. When I look into my face I don't see alot of difference. Guess I am used to what I see. There are a few gray hairs,a few creases. My brain has a few more things on it then it used to. Sometimes I don't remember why I called someone.....those who know me know I use the telephone like a rapid fire weapon. I know I am not afraid of being 50......but I am a bit surprised. It has always seemed like an age that was magical...until then I could always tell myself "Well, I still am young.". Now I find that I am the age that can be described as half a century, 5 decades,you get the picture.
So where do I go from here? hmmmmm....philosophically one wants to believe that like wine we get better...but I am not sure I am a fine wine. More like a whiskey...once I was young and wild and now am a bit smoother. I realize that life isn't always fair so I am appreciative what I have been given so far and I am hopeful I will get more of this thing called life.
So what are my plans? 1. Keep my sense of humor and keep being loving with my family and friends. 2. Stay in love with my lovely wife Yoly and with my 3 great kids,Josh,Rachel, and Liz. 3. Keep selling eggs and booking trucks--something that gives me pleasure. 4. Try to stay hip. 5. Build an Indian hogan in the mountains.
So what is your role as my friend and family? Keep reminding me that life is not to be lived too seriously. Encourage me to dance more. I have a valid reason to play my music louder at this age. Keep learning new things and keep writing. Keep my main web page current. Concentrate on the idea that one does their best work after age 50 usually.
I now understand why the occasional prisoner laughs when he is sentenced to life-----in many ways we all are already sentenced to life and what we do with it makes the difference in what happens in our lives. Thanks for being part of my life.
An old and wiser Dean
